The UIC Safety Platform Steering Group meeting took place on 17 May in Paris under the leadership of chairman Jean-Michel Richard (SNCF) and vice-chairman Julian Lindfield (Network Rail).
Following the informal part of the meeting concerning information exchange on significant developments in the field of railway safety, accidents and incidents, the director of UIC HQ’s Fundamental Values department Jerzy Wisniewski reported on the preparation of the 78th UIC General Assembly, which will take place on 8 June in Warsaw, the latest developments within the FP7 EU-funded projects and the current situation of the “International Rail Research Board” (IRRB). In association with the GA the “International Level Crossing Awareness Day” (ILCAD) is to be held on 9 June 2011 with the participation of about 40 partners all over the world. Isabelle Fonverne, coordinator in the UIC Safety Unit of this event, reported on this worldwide activity under the common message “Act safely at level crossings”. An international press conference on ILCAD will be held on the evening of the 7 June in Warsaw with UIC member CEOs and journalists on the occasion of the UIC statutory meetings.
The chairman of the common UIC “System Safety Management Group” (SSMG)/CER Safety Support Group Jean-Francois Meunier (SNCF) reported on the latest activities of this working group, especially the development in the field of Risk Acceptance Criteria (RAC), the way to a “Single Safety Certificate” and ongoing information exchange concerning safety-related aspects with representatives of the International Liaison Group of Governmental Railway Inspectorates (ILGGRI).
Jane Dobson (Interfleet, consultant/UK) presented the intermediate results of a study on the historical evolution of railway safety over the last 25 years, undertaken by this company at ERA’s request. The presentation was followed by a broad discussion among the participants. The final results of this study will be presented to the ERA Safety Performance Group in November 2011.
Christian Neveu (SNCF), chairman of the Safety Platform’s Human Factors WG, reported on the results of this WG; the proposal to start work on “Safety Culture” in 2012 was adopted.
The activities of the Occupational Health and Safety Group (OHSG) were presented by its chairman Colin Clifton (Southeaster Railway/UK). The finalised version of the recommendation about the “Use of mobile telephones and electronic devices” are approved and will be published. The state-of-the-art concerning the recommendation “Managing psychologically traumatic incidents and preventing post-traumatic stress” was presented. The documentation will be finalised by the Safety Platform Plenary meeting in October 2011.
Both subjects were also on the agenda of the UIC Human Factors Seminar on 18/19 May.
Olaf Mette (ERA, Interoperability Unit) reported on the developments of the implementation of the European “Driver Licence Directive” and further activities in this area.
Finally, Peter Gerhardt presented the first draft of the Safety Platform Work Programme 2012.
